Chapter 24: The Second World War, 1933–1945
CORE OBJECTIVES
1. Assess how German and Japanese actions led to the outbreak of war in Europe and in Asia.
TRUE/FALSE
1. A radical form of totalitarian government in which a dictator uses propaganda to seize
control of all aspects of national life is known as fascism.
2. President Roosevelt did not want to sign the neutrality laws keeping the United States out of
World War II.
3. Albert Einstein’s warning that the Germans were attempting to produce atomic bombs
helped inspire the creation of the Manhattan Project even before the United States entered
the war.
4. The Lend-Lease Bill allowed the president to lend or lease military equipment to any
country deemed vital to the defense of the United States.
5. The Atlantic Charter was an agreement among the Allied powers deciding how to divide up
Germany after the war was over.
6. By the end of 1942, U.S. war production exceeded the combined output of Germany, Italy,
and Japan.
7. With millions of men being drafted into the service, women took their places in the
workforce.
8. The excellence of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II helped lead to the desegregation of
the armed forces after the war.
9. Native Americans served as “code talkers” for the U.S. military during World War II.
10. At Casablanca, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed that the terms for ending the war must
include the “unconditional surrender” of all enemies.
11. The United States and Britain adopted a Pacific First strategy during World War II in
response to Japanese attacks in the Pacific.
12. “D–day” refers to the cross-channel Allied amphibious invasion of Nazi-occupied France.
13. In May 1945, Germany surrendered in exchange for assurances that Hitler would not be
tried as a war criminal.
14. The United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
15. Despite the length and duration of World War II, total civilian and military deaths
miraculously remained fewer than 1 million.
16. The agreements at the Yalta Conference included Stalin’s pledge to enter the war against
Japan three months after Germany’s defeat.
17. During World War II, presidential authority expanded significantly.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which form of government, the opposite of democracy, involves a dictator who controls all
aspects of the nation’s life?
a. Capitalism
b. Republic
c. Communism
d. Fascism
e. Monarchy
2. Heading into the Second World War, _______ and _____ embraced fascism.
a. Japan; England
b. Germany; Italy
c. Turkey; Russia
d. Russia; England
e. Germany; Poland
3. During the Second World War, citizens of __________ and __________ were led to believe
they were members of a race superior to anyone else.
a. Japan; Germany
b. Germany; Italy
c. England; Russia
d. France; Germany
e. Poland; Yugoslavia
4. Which of the following did Hitler’s Nazi party consider a threat and a target?
a. Aryans
b. Germans
c. Communists
d. Capitalists
e. Fascists
5. What was the result of the invasion of Manchuria by Japanese troops in the 1930s?
a. They sought to seize control of the railroad in Manchuria into Russia but were
immediately thwarted by Russian forces.
b. They took advantage of China’s weakness during a civil war by proclaiming
Manchuria’s independence.
c. They used Manchuria as a staging ground to invade Russia, thereby marking the
beginning of World War II.
d. They took control of this unclaimed land because they saw it as an opportunity to have a
warm water port on the mainland.
e. They intended to prevent the Chinese from using the port there as a launch point to
invade Japan but were thwarted by Chinese forces.
6. During the 1930s, China was weakened by civil war between __________ and _________
a. Mao Zedong; Chiang Kai-shek
b. Ho Chi Minh; Vo Nhu Giap
c. Yamamoto; Hirohito
d. Empress Dowager; the Boxers
e. Hikaru Sulu; Kim Jong-Il
7. During the Spanish Civil War, ________ provided troops to aid the insurgents.
a. Poland
b. England
c. France
d. Spain
e. Germany
8. The Axis Alliance was made up of
a. Great Britain, France, and Russia.
b. Japan, Italy, and Germany.
c. Japan, Germany, and Russia.
d. Great Britain, France, and China.
e. Germany, Italy, and Russia.
9. What was the treaty that granted Hitler the Sudeten territory in Czechoslovakia in an
attempt to “appease” him and secure “peace for our time”?
a. The Versailles Treaty
b. Destroyers for Bases Agreement
c. The Munich Pact
d. The Atlantic Charter
e. The German-Soviet Non-aggression Pact
10. The Anschluss refers to when Germany took over
a. Belgium.
b. Great Britain.
c. Poland.
d. Austria.
e. Czechoslovakia.
11. World War II started when
a. the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
b. the Germans invaded Poland.
c. England declared war on Germany after they invaded France.
d. France was defeated by Germany.
e. the United States declared war on Japan.
12. In response to Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia, the United States passed the
a. Anti-Immigration law.
b. Munich Pact.
c. Neutrality Acts.
d. Destroyers for Bases Agreement.
e. Nye Committee’s findings.
13. At the start of World War II, citizens of the United States
a. demanded the United States declare war on England.
b. demanded the United States declare war on Germany.
c. formed associations to send money and necessary items to England.
d. maintained their isolationist stance.
e. pushed for a peace treaty between Germany and England.
14. In 1937, President Roosevelt announced that if a warring nation were to try and purchase
military goods from the United States, they should expect to
a. no longer trade with the United States.
b. receive the support of U.S. troops as well.
c. pay cash for the items, and find a way to carry it back to their nation.
d. run into problems with German submarines.
e. pay a sizeable down payment and a war tax, since the United States was neutral.
15. In 1939, Roosevelt had Congress modify the Neutrality Acts to allow
a. Allied nations to receive credit to buy American war material.
b. France and England to send their ships to get American goods.
c. Americans to volunteer to fight the Axis for other nations.
d. Japan to be barred from trading with the United States.
e. China to receive weaponry for free.
16. Which of the following did Roosevelt do in 1940?
a. He called for a military draft and an increase in the U.S. forces so that if war came,
America would be prepared.
b. He met with Hitler and personally tried to negotiate a cease-fire with Germany before
the war got too bloody.
c. He prevented atomic weapons research in the United States because of limited resources
and the belief that Germans had not tried to make atomic bombs.
d. He declared war on Poland, invading an important demilitarized zone there and angering
Hitler.
e. He convinced Stalin to switch sides and join the Allies by promising him part of
northern and eastern Europe at the end of the war.
17. To assist Great Britain and their need for supplies, Roosevelt secured an agreement to give
Great Britain a number of old U.S. warships in exchange for
a. the ability to build military bases on British island colonies in the Caribbean.
b. increased British patrol of the areas infested with German U-boats.
c. an increase in British efforts to stop Hitler’s massacre of the Jews in Germany.
d. millions of dollars to help boost the U.S. economy.
e. their promise to aid the U.S. in defeating the Japanese after the fall of Hitler.
18. What decision did Roosevelt make in September 1940 that even Eleanor Roosevelt
disagreed with?
a. He declared war on Germany.
b. He escorted British ships across the Atlantic.
c. He allowed American banks to loan money to the Allies.
d. He called for peacetime conscription.
e. He ended segregation in the military.
19. What was the result of the Battle of Britain in 1940?
a. Although German air strikes killed tens of thousands of British civilians, the Royal Air
Force used new radar technology to win the battle.
b. Winston Churchill’s approval ratings as prime minister plummeted, as Great Britain
grew convinced that they would lose the war.
c. The British gave up control of a number of their ports to the Germans, as the Germans
had launched a primarily naval attack.
d. The British managed to avoid major civilian casualties and experienced little damage to
their major cities.
e. Thanks to their Luftwaffe air force, the German military won their first victory after a
series of major losses.
20. In the 1940 presidential election, Roosevelt promoted ____________, whereas his opponent
favored _________.
a. isolationism; intervention
b. intervention; isolationism
c. preparedness; isolationism
d. isolationism; preparedness
e. warmongering; preparedness
21. The __________ allowed the president to provide military aid to any nation that he deemed
needed it.
a. Cash Carry Bill
b. Munich Pact
c. Lend-Lease Bill
d. War Powers Act
e. Tripartite Pact
22. The Atlantic Charter in 1941 was a joint statement of “common principles” between
a. Hitler and Hirohito.
b. Roosevelt and Churchill.
c. Roosevelt and Chamberlain.
d. Hitler and Mussolini.
e. Stalin and Mussolini.
23. What occurred when Japan stated that they were taking control of French Indochina in
1941?
a. Roosevelt froze all Japanese financial assets in the United States and restricted oil
exports.
b. The Chinese military supported the Japanese troops, giving them access to railroads.
c. The French and U.S. militaries started conducting raids in Hawaii.
d. The U.S. military started firebombing Tokyo, Japan.
e. Roosevelt formally declared war on Japan and invaded French Indochina.
24. Why was the attack on Pearl Harbor significant?